Missing
by Eve's-Retaliation
Summary: When the love of Edward's life goes missing, he will do whatever it takes to find him. But what if what he finds, turns out to be his worst nightmare? Graphic Slash. Rated M for a reason. Edward/Emmett.
1. Chapter 1

"_My god," I panted, shocked to the very core. The man before me looked exactly the same as the man I'd been looking for except… _not. _His body looked impossibly more toned, sculpted from stone almost, under the grey, blooded rag that used to be the shirt I last saw him in. His face was set in a dismal mixture of confusion, torn longing, and desire, but desire for _what?

_Finally, my eyes settled onto his. I couldn't help the cry of terror and confusion when I saw the deep red color of his irises. In the past, his eyes were the most gentle shades of blue and grey but now he looked like a demon. I stumbled back, away from him in my fear, but didn't miss the sad frown that marred his otherwise perfect face. _

_"Don't be afraid of me," he__softly growled; his honey voice was smoothly ominous._

_"Emmett..." his name left my lips in a strangled whimper._

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><p><strong>AN **

**Yes, it's short I know but the first chapter is up too :) I hope you enjoyed and are interested enough to check out the rest!**

**A million and one thanks goes to Mrs. Agget for being a superquick Beta on my first story ever and to DelphiusFanfic for being the best prereader in the world! Love you ladies for making it possible for me to post this. **


	2. Chapter 2

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. _

Groaning, I turned away from the warmth and comfort of Emmett's large body to whack at the offensive clock on my nightstand. _Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. _"Shut up," I growled, my arm fruitlessly trying to locate the alarm. Behind me, Emmett mumbled something about death and destruction to all things that make noise before turning on his other side and falling back asleep.

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. _"For fuck's sake," I grumbled, opening my eyes and finally slamming my hand down on the loud obnoxious thing to silence it. Looking out the window, I could see the weak rays from the sun of dawn filtering through the glass and I knew it was time to wake up. I turned onto my back and roughly dragged my hand down my face, trying to rub the sleep from my eyes. Looking over at Emmett, I swiftly tap him on the ass and tell him to wake up.

"No," he grunted. "It's too early."

"C'mon," I replied. "Time to hit the shower." I got up, letting the warm covers fall away and stepped out of bed. Immediately, I regretted this action when my body exploded into cold goose bumps and a shiver shot up my spine. As swift as my sleepy body allowed me to, I sprinted into the bathroom and turned on the shower. I hopped around a bit, trying to keep myself warm while the water took it's sweet time to heat up. When I finally stepped under the hot water, I let out a sigh of relief. This really was the only way to wake my ass up.

After I showered, I woke Emmett again then dressed in jeans and a shirt. Together, we ate breakfast in comfortable silence before we had to say goodbye to each other.

"What time will you be home?" I asked him, folding my arms around his waist as we said goodbye on the porch. He reciprocated by folding his own arms around my shoulders and gently kissing me.

"At around five thirty, I think," he answered.

"Okay," I told him, kissing him a little deeper than he had kissed me. "I'll be waiting for you."

Emmett slipped out of my arms and walked off towards his car, yelling "Love ya!" over his shoulder.

"Love you too!" I replied, blatantly checking out his ass before it disappeared into the car. He started the engine and, with a wave, backed out of the driveway and drove off. I took a deep breath before walking back into the house and tidying up a bit. After loading up the washing machine, I walked into my little office and sat down behind my computer.

My work day was starting now.

As a website designer, I could work from home on most days, only really going into the office for meetings or customers. Currently, I was working on a website for the local high school, which meant a lot of different pages and a lot… a _lot_… of pictures. At around eleven, when I was about ready to throw up if I saw one more perky cheerleader posing for the picture taken, I took a quick break to get myself some coffee and to crack my aching neck.

I was standing in the kitchen, waiting for the coffeemaker to finish, when I was hit with a deep-seated, gut wrenching feeling of dread and misery. It was so strong that it made me stumble a bit and clutch my stomach.

"Whoa," I breathed. Though the feeling passed quickly, it never really left me and I was left wondering pretty much all day. Under normal circumstances, I would've called Emmett but I knew he'd be in about a million meetings today so I opted to leave him alone instead. He would probably call at around three anyway, like he always did.

I drank my coffee and worked on the website for a while longer, until 3 o'clock came and went. I couldn't help but remember the feeling I had standing in the kitchen but then chided myself for being over dramatic. He was probably just swamped with work. No big deal.

But my thoughts didn't soothe my feelings much. I got so nervous that I saved the changes I made to the website and shut down the computer. It felt like a century of pacing up and down the living room, willing the clock to go faster until Emmett would come home. I drank more of the hot coffee, then paced again until finally the clock hit the 5.30 mark.

But as longingly I looked at the front door, willing it to open and reveal the man I loved, it stayed stubbornly shut. Feeling bile rise up in my throat, I took my cell out of my pocket and called Emmett.

"Fuck!" I shouted when my call was picked up by voicemail. I tried calling his work number but considering it was past five, all the phones were immediately directed to voicemail too.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I once again chided myself for being a drama queen. He was probably just stuck in traffic. He'd be home soon. I forced myself to sit on the couch and pick up the remote.

I could just about hear his deep laughter if I were to tell him I had been so worried. "You waited on me like an over protective housewife, huh?" he would tease, poking me in the ribs and laughing. The thought made me smile a bit.

Despite my decision to stop worrying, six o'clock came and went and the dread returned in full. I took another breath to settle myself and stubbornly kept my eyes on the ever changing channels on the TV.

6.30… I pushed my feelings of nausea down but turned off the TV. Instead, I marched into the kitchen and started on dinner. I was getting angry now. Where the hell was he?

7 pm. I was glaring at the plate of spaghetti in front of me when the doorbell rang. Startled, I jumped up but got my wits about me quickly. Pissed, I stalked over to the door and yanked the door open. The person behind it jumped a bit and my anger deflated, immediately followed by concern again.

"Alice," I said, surprise clear in my voice. "What are you doing here?" Alice was my cousin and coincidentally Emmett's assistant at work. She even introduced us.

"Listen, Edward," she started off, looking pissed. "I don't care if you and Emmett decide to stay in bed all day and I really don't mind if he plays hooky every once in a while, but on a day like this? With a million meetings and whatnot and you know–"

I cut her off. "What the hell are you talking about?"

She huffed. "Emmett never showed up to work today. All freaking day! He won't even pick up the freaking phone!"

Her words hit me like a sledgehammer and she must have seen it on my face because she immediately calmed down and asked me if I was okay.

"He didn't stay at home today, Alice," I shakily told her. "He went to work."

"But he hasn't been at work, Edward," she told me. She stepped into the house and shut the door behind her with a concerned face. "Where could he be?"

"I don't know," I whispered, feeling like someone was suffocating me. Panic gripped me tightly and wasn't letting go. Maybe it was time to call the police…

"I'm gonna call the cops," I told Alice, walking into the living room. Her soft footfalls behind me told me she was following me. I grabbed the cordless from its station and dialed 911.

_911. What's your emergency? _The voice on the other side of the line said.

"Good evening, my name is Edward Cullen. I'd like to report my boyfriend missing," I said with a shaky voice, biting my lip as the weight of the words settled in my stomach. I sat down on the couch and held my head in my free hand.

"What's your boyfriend's name, Mr. Cullen?"

"Emmett McCarty."

"And when was the last time you saw him?"

I took a deep breath. "Last time I saw him was at around 8 this morning. He never showed up for work and isn't picking up his phone."

I felt Alice's small hand begin to rub circles into my tense back and I was grateful not to be alone right now.

"Mr. Cullen, I'm sorry but I can't report a person missing until 24 hours after he was last seen," the woman said. "He could very well be out with his friends or something like that. There's no reason to believe he's missing as of yet."

Anger flared up inside of me. "What? But he hasn't been seen all day! Not at home, not at work. It's not like him! There's something wrong, I know it!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but right now we can't help you."

"But, I–"

"24 hours, sir. That's the minimum amount of time before you can report someone missing," the woman cut me off.

Frustrated, angry, and sad, I growled, disconnected and threw the phone across the room. I could feel Alice's confusion but she never stopped rubbing my back.

"He has to be missing for 24 hours before I can file a report," I growled through my teeth. "Apparently, the cops think he might be hanging with his friends or screwing around or something."

"I'm sorry," Alice whispered.

"There's something wrong, Alice," I moaned with misery. "I can feel it in my gut."

"Maybe that's just your anxiety talking…" she offered in vain. I shook my head and got up, walking into the kitchen and taking the bottle of scotch out the cupboard. I didn't bother with a glass, instead I swigged directly from the bottle.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I heard Alice say. I shrugged, not really caring.

"Just to calm my nerves a bit," I explained to make her feel better. I took another large swallow, letting the burn wash over my throat and settle in my veins. Instantly, I felt warmer, less panicked, and I sighed with relief.

I looked over at Alice. She was shifting from one foot to the other, biting her lip and wringing her hands. She was scared. It was no secret she and Emmett were close. Their colleagues even lovingly called them 'the siblings'.

"Hey," I whispered, causing her to look up at me. "We'll find him."

She smiled a bit and nodded her head. "Yes, we will. And if the police won't help us, we'll do it ourselves."

I raised a questioning eyebrow at her. "Let's retrace his steps, okay?" she explained.

"Well," I breathed, running a hand through my hair and feeling a little better. "He went out to go to work."

"Right," Alice nodded. "And he isn't the type to just ditch work to go bowling with mates or something so we have to assume he was on his way to work."

"Yes," I said, my brain kicking into gear. Working on finding him made me feel much better, clearer in the head. "And his route to work takes him through a back road with a lot of bends."

"Okay!" Alice exclaimed, clapping her hands. "Let's go! We're gonna find him."

She took my hand and pulled me away from the counter, towards the door. Instantly, I knew what her plan was. We were going to drive the route to his office and see if we could find him. I tried not to think about what might happen if we did find him… with his car in a ditch somewhere…

I swallowed and grabbed the keys to my Jeep from the side table next to the door. Alice and I jumped into the car and took off. The first few minutes of the drive was along big open roads. If he or his car were there, we would've spotted them immediately. We found nothing.

Soon I turned onto the long, dark, hidden road that led straight through the woods and slowed down, putting on my high beams. I slowed down to 10 miles per hour so we could search the woods on either side of the narrow road without missing anything. Alice opened her window and stuck her head out. Following her, I did the same.

No matter how hard we looked, after ten minutes we still didn't find anything and I was starting to panic again. Where could he be? Was he with somebody? What if he had crashed his car and was hurt or… worse. I swallowed back bile as that thought entered my brain and didn't leave.

"Edward!" Alice screamed. "Stop the car!"

I slammed on the brake, looking at whatever she was looking at, but I didn't see anything.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I saw a red light!" she shouted, getting out of the car. Hope – and dread – flared up inside of me as I cut the engine in the middle of the deserted road and got out, sprinting after my cousin into the woods.

Tiny as though she was, Alice was a fast runner and following her, I finally saw what she had seen. The red light she had seen were clearly the rear-lights of a car. I felt like puking when I looked down and saw clear skid-marks on the trees had damage from the car impacting them with great speed.

But then, when we came closer to the car, I could see it was Emmett's sedan. My heart stopped before starting to beat wildly in my chest as I ran as fast as I could to the drivers side.

I could see the car was totaled; it had crashed directly into a large tree. I yanked the door open but there was no one inside.

"Emmett," I breathed. He wasn't there. I looked around but it was too dark to see very was no way he could've gotten out of the crash unscathed. He had to be here somewhere. I squinted through the darkness, hoping to catch a glimpse of his broad back or something but couldn't see anything.

"Edward," Alice choked. "What is that?" She pointed to a few spots on the seat. I turned back to the car and my eyes followed her pointing finger.

There were darker spots on the drivers seat. I reached out and touched one of them. To my utter disgust and dismay, I felt wetness.

"Oh my god," I gasped, pulling back my hand. On a closer view, I could see the tops of my fingers were now covered with a thick, crimson red liquid.

"Is that blood?" Alice shrieked. The world started spinning under my feet and my skin broke out in a cold sweat.

"Oh my god…" I choked. "Oh my god, Emmett."

Alice was quick to take out her phone and dial 911, but I didn't hear a word of what she was saying. I felt like I was about to pass out and maybe I did, because next thing I remember, cops were everywhere. Alice and I were taken away by one of them for questioning.

I walked – unseeing – towards my car. I didn't even feel the supporting hand the cop had placed under my elbow. He let me lean against the Jeep, while Alice was off with another cop, and get my wits about me somehow.

"Mr. Cullen?" he asked after a good five minutes. I shook my head and put my hand in front of my mouth. The officer looked off to the side, then took to his walkie-talkie thingy on his shoulder.

I didn't hear a word what was being said, but after he was done, he turned back to me and tried to smile encouragingly.

"There will be a Detective here soon," the cop told me. "He'll have some questions for you, Mr. Cullen."

I nodded, not really caring. All I could think about was this morning, when we said goodbye. Would that have been the last time I ever saw him? Touched, smelled, and heard him say he loved me?

I closed my eyes to stop tears from flowing freely. He was my everything. My world, my voice of reason, my only reason to wake up in the morning. What would I do if he was… I swallowed, not allowing myself to finish that line of thought.

"Newton!" someone from inside the woods shouted, gaining the attention of the officer in front of me. "We need you!"

He turned his gaze back to me and smiled again. "Don't worry, . We'll find your man." With a squeeze on my shoulder he walked off, leaving me alone. I stumbled along the car until I reached the drivers side door, opened it, and sat down. I rested my head in my hands, letting the full weight of what was happening engulf me in its clutches.

Emmett's car was no more than 50 yards away from me, with blood all over the interior, and I had no clue as to where my love was. I tugged on my hair sharply, hoping beyond hope that it would wake me from this nightmare, but there was no waking up.

Emmett, the love of my life, was missing and I had no idea if I would ever see him again. If he was even still alive…

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><p><strong>Thanks for still reading! I hope you won't kill me for this. Remember, it ain't FF without a HEA ;D <strong>

**Special thanks to my wonderful Beta Mrs. Agget and my kick-ass prereader DelphiusFanfic. They are both incredibly talented writers so check out their stuff. **

**There are links on my profile that you might find interesting. **

**XoXoX Eve**


	3. Chapter 3

The detective had climbed into the passenger seat of my car. I was still sitting with my face in my hands. I didn't really care that the person next to me was waiting for me to look up. I was completely miserable. My head hurt, and I was nauseous. Worst of all, every beat of my heart seemed to be painful.

I took a breath and finally peered up at the detective. I was surprised to see that he wasn't watching me but was patiently looking out the windshield, waiting for me to acknowledge him.

"Is he dead?" I asked, my voice thick with emotion and anxiety. Of course I knew in my head that the detective couldn't answer that question, but in that moment, he was all I had.

He took a deep breath and finally glanced at me. The comfort I found in his eyes unclenched my stomach a little, though not by much. "I don't know," he answered honestly.

I nodded and swallowed hard. The detective was a good looking man; his hair was a light honey-blond. Combined with his deep blue eyes, he was handsome. Most of all, more importantly, he oozed this sense of calm determination to find Emmett and I clung to that.

"Mr. Cullen," he started.

"Edward," I interrupted him. I never liked it when people called me Mr. Cullen. It sounded too formal, too detached, and cold.

"Edward," he said. "My name is Jasper Whitlock. As you might have guessed, I'm the detective assigned to the case."

I nodded as he continued. "Can you tell me what happened tonight?"

With a deep, shuddering breath, I started talking. Under the blue and red lights coming from the cop cars, I relayed everything.

"I knew something was wrong," I finished, not caring about the tears that were now freely flowing down my cheeks.

Detective Whitlock, who had been taking notes, looked up into my eyes and quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I felt it in my gut," I choked. I closed my eyes again and shook my head, thinking again of the dread and anguish I had felt all day. I should've acted on my intuition. Maybe if I had, I would've found Emmett before he…

_He's not dead!_ My heart screamed. _He could very well be_, my brain contradicted and I couldn't suppress the moan of misery that bubbled up from my chest.

"Edward," Detective Whitlock said. "I can't promise you that we'll find Emmett I can promise you is that we will do everything within our power to find him."

He stopped for a moment, then continued. "I'll have an officer escort you to the station. That way we can talk a bit more, okay?"

I nodded and wiped the tears from my cheeks. Detective Whitlock got out of the car and with a last assuring smile, disappeared from view.

At the police station, I was led to a room on the second floor. To my great relief, I saw Alice was already there. She got up from her chair and threw her arms around my waist, burying her face in my chest. I said nothing, just hugged her to me and let her presence wash over me.

The room was small, the walls were white, and there was little inside. Just a table with four chairs around it and a small desk with a computer. Everything about the space just screamed 'Interrogation'. I hated it. It was cold and dark, even though there were bright office lights on the ceiling. This was the kind of room they used to get answers from murderers... and obviously, victims and relatives of said victims. I shuddered.

Alice and I sat on one side of the desk, clutching each other's hands and silently praying to whatever deity might listen that Emmett would be found soon. A numbness spread over me. The panic, the feelings of dread and worry were replaced by a big sucking void of nothingness. For a second, the lack of feeling frightened me until I gave in to the sweet bliss of not feeling at all.

I don't know how long we sat there in silence, just looking at the white walls and contemplating the situation. When the clock struck 11, Alice folded her arms on the table and rested her head. She fell asleep soon after.

I sighed and took out my phone. The urge to text Emmett was a force of habit. Briefly, the pain that washed over me was breathtaking and I gasped out pain, however, was quickly wrapped under the blanket of numbness again.

Finally, after another twenty minutes or so, Detective Whitlock walked in, startling Alice awake.

"Excuse me for keeping you waiting so long," he said, putting a file down on the table and handing Alice and I both a cup of coffee. We gratefully took it from him.

He held out a hand to Alice. "I'm Detective Whitlock, but please call me Jasper." He turned to both of us while he said the last part.

Jasper turned to me. "Edward, I need to ask you some very basic questions about Emmett but before we get to that, I have a few things to tell you."

"Okay," I whispered.

He took a deep breath. "I investigated the crash scene and the surrounding forest," he said, making me anxious and nervous to hear what he had found.

"I found a few things," he continued. 'Let me start by saying that we found Emmett's wallet."

I swallowed, nodding some more. I tried not to panic at the thought of him being somewhere alone and hurt without his wallet, but I wasn't succeeding. He pulled an evidence bag out of his briefcase. Inside was a worn brown leather wallet that I recognized immediately. The blanket of numbness disappeared instantly, like the flip of a switch, and anguish washed over me instantly.

Jasper nodded sadly and put the bag back in his briefcase. "We also found some jewellery," he said, taking a few other bags out of the briefcase.

Inside them were Emmett's watch, the chain I had got him on our first anniversary, and his grandfather's ring. I doubled over with the emotions the sight caused in my gut.

The detective noticed, but chose to keep talking. "For the blood you found on the seat, we will need a DNA sample for comparison."

Nodding again, I told him I would collect some things from the house that would have his DNA on it.

He took another deep breath before clearing away his briefcase. He folded his hands on the table in front of him and looked deep into my eyes.

"Edward," he said. "In the surrounding forest, we've found clear signs of a struggle."

"Oh my god," Alice breathed, while I stared at the man before me in disbelief.

"A struggle?" I squeaked.

"Can you tell me if Emmett has any enemies, someone who could hold a grudge against him? An ex-lover maybe or a co-worker?"

"Everyone loved Emmett!" Alice shrieked. I couldn't help but cringe at her use of the past tense.

"No, I…" I said, thinking hard about anyone who might want to hurt Emmett. It was hard to do while everything about me was in agony. "I can't think of anyone…"

"Think hard about it, Edward," Jasper gently nudged me. "Anyone. No matter how unimportant a conflict might have been to you or Emmett, it could've been extremely important to someone else."

"No, really I…" I stammered. "Well, we bumped in to a few guys outside a gay bar last week."

He nodded, encouraging me to go on, and I continued, "but it really wasn't a big deal. Just some guys spewing nonsense about gay men."

"Did they threaten you?" he asked. "Did things escalate in any way?"

I quickly shook my head. "All we did was ask if they wanted to get out of the way, which they did."

He gave me a reassuring smile, then started asking general questions like Emmett's full name, date of birth, and stuff like that. Before I knew it, Alice and I were being guided out of the precinct and towards my car by the detective.

At the car, he asked me if I was okay to drive.

"Yeah, I think so," I said.

"Okay," he replied, peering deep into my eyes for a second before stepping back from the car and watching as we drove off. Silence reigned inside the car as we drove back to the house. Alice had already asked if it was okay for her to stay over tonight. I could use the company so I said it was okay.

I couldn't even begin to think about where to start on calling people. I had to call his family, his work, all of our friends, my family… I heaved a deep sigh. All I really wanted was to crawl into a corner and just vanish. Or maybe wake up from this nightmare…

By the time I pulled into my driveway, the silence was slowly killing me and I whispered into the darkness.

"Do you think he's dead?" I asked Alice, my voice thick with emotion.

"I don't know," she answered, her voice just as shaky as mine. "My heart tells me he's not."

I clung to that, looking into her darkened eyes, and nodding gratefully. "I don't think he's dead either."

Alice reached over and squeezed my arm before getting out of the car. Walking into the house, my breath hitched. The house we lived in together, made so many memories in, felt unnaturally empty and cold.

With a painful heart, I realised that Emmett's essence was gone from the house. His energy, if you will. The lightness in the house seemed to have vanished. It seemed less fresh and open. Our home was nothing but an empty shell.

With short words, I told Alice that she could sleep in our bed, that I would take the couch, and where she could find an unused toothbrush and towels. She said nothing, just nodded as I spoke before disappearing into my bedroom.

I sat down on the couch with my face in my hands, feeling miserable and yet strangely calm at the same time. In my head, the day was on a loop. How we said goodbye this morning, our kiss on the porch, and saying we loved each other. Then that horrible feeling I had and everything that happened after.

I felt sick again so I lay down on the couch and hugged my knees to my chest. I swiftly closed my eyes to blink away tears.

I felt the couch dip with weight and I mumbled: "Alice, what is it?"

"Edward?"

I shot up at Emmett's pleading voice, gawking at him as he sat in the corner of the couch looking at me and begging me with his eyes. His face was barely visible, as if he was clouded in shadow. All I could really see were his eyes. His pained, bloodshot eyes...

"Emmett!" I cried. "Where have you been?" My body wanted to launch itself at him. To be able to hold him, kiss him, and breathe in his scent, but my mind stopped me from doing that.

"He's hurting me, Edward," Emmett rasped.

"What? Who's hurting you?"

"Edward, it hurts..." Emmett said with a strangled voice.

"What hurts?" I screamed at him. "Tell me who's doing this to you!"

"I don't know," Emmett cried. "Red eyes..."

"Red eyes? What the hell are you talking about?"

Emmett got up. "I have to go," he mumbled.

"No! No, Emmett, don't go!" I pleaded before waking up with a scream so loud that the neighbor's dog started barking.

My body erupted into strong sobs and loud, raspy breaths and cries for him to come back. Alice's soft, small arms encircled my shoulders and she gently shushed me and rocked me but it just made me cry harder. I wanted Emmett's big, strong arms around me, his voice telling me everything was going to be okay. But instead, all I heard in my head was his pained, raspy voice telling me he was in pain.

"Red eyes," I mumbled.

"What?" Alice asked, pulling back confused.

"Emmett was talking about red eyes," I told her.

"I don't follow," Alice said, her face contorted in confusion.

"Emmett... I dreamt about him," I explained but it just seemed to add to her confusion. I huffed and told her about the dream. By the time I was done talking, I was a sobbing mess again but Alice was too mortified to comfort me this time around.

"Well, I..." she started, clearing her throat. "It was just a nightmare, Edward."

I didn't agree with her, but nodded anyway and retook my sleeping position. Alice walked into my bedroom and came back with a blanket and pillow. She lifted my head and placed the pillow underneath before covering me with the blanket.

The smell made me want to cry again. She had unknowingly given me Emmett's pillow and the memories came flooding into my mind. But it soothed me nonetheless, and I was deep into a blissfully dreamless sleep by the time Alice went back into my bedroom.

I looked at the phone in my hands as if it was about to come alive and kill me. My stomach was churning and my hands were shaking. I had already called my family about Emmett's disappearance and Alice had taken the liberty of notifying their office. I had also called Rosalie, Emmett's best friend, and I knew she would tell our other friends.

But now I had to call Emmett's family...

The last time we spoke was almost four years ago. They had made it very clear that Emmett was no son of theirs, just because he was gay. Emmett walked away from them and never looked back. I didn't even think to stop him from walking out on his family. The split lip and the black eye his father had given me made sure of that.

I knew that even though we had had our troubles, Emmett was still their son and they needed to know about his disappearance.

With a sigh, I punched in their number and waited for them to pick up.

"Hello," sounded Pearl McCarty's voice from the other side. I swallowed back the anger that bubbled up at the sound of his mother's voice.

"Pearl, this is Edward Cullen."

There was deafening silence for a few seconds.

"You have some nerve calling this house, boy!" she hissed at me through the phone and I felt a muscle in my jaw tense with the effort not to call her out on being a total bitch.

"Emmett's missing," I grunted through my teeth.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"He never came home yesterday after work," I replied, trying desperately to keep my patience.

A snort sounded from the other end of the line. "Maybe he's finally come to his senses and left you to go live a normal, happy life," she said, but couldn't help adding: "With a nice girl."

"We found his car, Pearl," I bit at her, my pulse shooting through the roof. "With his blood on the interior. Somehow, I don't think that means he's off banging some chick somewhere."

I was met with more silence and I had to bite my knuckle to stop from screaming obscenities at Emmett's bitch mother. The amount of hatred I felt for the people who put the love of my life on this world was unprecedented. They held not an ounce of love for Emmett, and the way they treated him after coming out was enough for me to wish them a very intimate meeting with the bottom of the ocean.

"You did this to him!" Pearl's sudden outburst startled me before the words sunk in.

"What?"

"This is all your fault!" she screamed. "You seduced him into your disgusting illness!"

Flabbergasted, I looked at the phone. My mouth was opening and closing like a fucking fish while Pearl screamed at me about how I corrupted her son and how I led him into some sinful life. I couldn't believe what I was hearing and before my mind had a chance to stop itself, I hung up the phone.

Shaking with anger and disbelief, I sat looking at the phone for what felt like an eternity. It wasn't until the doorbell rang that I jolted out of my state.

I opened the door and was immediately pulled down into a hug by my mother. I relished in her presence, breathing in her scent and letting her comfort me like she used to do when I was a child. I couldn't help but compare my mother to Emmett's. I couldn't comprehend how a mother could care so little for her child.

After mom let me go, my dad pulled me into a hug. I was more than a little glad they were here. My parents were amazing and I knew that they would help find Emmett to the best of their abilities. Letting go of Dad, I led them into the living room before going into the kitchen to make coffee.

I had just taken two mugs out of the cabinet when images flashed through my head. I saw dark, wet forest ground and Emmett lying there. He was shivering and covered in sweat. A strangled scream escaped his chest and his body started convulsing with what appeared to be pain. As he writhed on the cold ground, he screamed something that sounded like my name...

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><p><strong>Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! I'm really sorry for the late update but unfortunately, RL kept getting in the way. <strong>

**Many hugs and thanks to my wonderful prereader DelphiusFanfic and my super-beta Mrs. Aggett. They're amazingly talented writers so be sure to check out their work! **

**XoXoX**

**Eve**


	4. Chapter 4

I don't know what it is about people bringing copious amounts of food as soon as tragedy strikes. It has only been a few hours since it was publicly announced that Emmett was missing and my fridge was already bursting at the seams. The neighbors on our right had already brought a casserole, at the same time the sweet old lady who lived on our left brought home-made apple pie and chocolate muffins. According to her, no person under stress should be without warm apple pie and good rich chocolate. I had to agree with her.

I think by now, I had 4 casseroles, three pies, and at least three meatloaves in my fridge.

I forced a grateful smile at one of the neighbors from down the block as she pushed another meatloaf in my hands.

"You don't need to worry about having food now, deary," she said, reaching out to pat my cheek.

"Thanks," I said, clearing my throat a little. She smiled up at me and patted me on the cheek once more before turning around and walking off the porch.

I closed the door behind her and heaved a sigh. My Mom giggled softly as she came up behind me to take the dish from my hands.

I uttered my confusion about why so many people were bringing food while I walked into the living room. Dad chuckled.

"This is people's way of telling you that they care," he said, and I nodded. I appreciated the gesture but I wouldn't even be able to eat any of it. My stomach was aching so bad, just the thought of eating was enough to make me nauseous.

I made a face, looking over at Rosalie who had been quiet all this time. She was obviously lost in thought, still clutching the cup of coffee I made her an hour ago. Gently, I pried it out of her fingers. The action made her look up at me.

"How can you be so calm?" she whispered, her eyes filling up with tears. Even I had to admit she was beautiful. Her eyes were a mixture of the softest blue combined with grey. It was impossible not to see her beauty.

I sighed. "I'm not calm," I admitted. "But I won't be of any use if I fall to the ground screaming my agony out into the universe."

She blinked, nodding slightly before bowing her head again. I brought her cup into the kitchen and placed it with the other dirty cups. Looking around, I knew I had to clean up a bit around here soon, but I couldn't get myself to do it.

It was the third day after I last saw Emmett. Jasper had been in and out of here on multiple occasions, asking more questions, taking Emmett's toothbrush and some pictures of him for shop windows and bill boards.

My parents hadn't left since they got here and Alice only just left to go to her own place. I knew she needed the space and - admittedly - a clean set of clothes, but I couldn't deny the fact that I felt weird about her not being here.

Yesterday had been a flurry of friends and family members coming in, asking questions and offering their help - and bringing food. By now, the entire town knew about Emmett's disappearance.

I was still standing in the kitchen, contemplating whether or not I had the mind to clean when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Dad said. Grateful, I went back to mentally prompting the dishes to clean themselves. While doing that, another set of images flashed through my mind.

It was Emmett again. He was still on the forest ground but this time, he was lying completely still. His appearance was different. His skin was much paler than before, his face more sculpted. The next image was his face up close. There was a fluttering behind his eyelids. Then, with a swift movement, his eyes opened to reveal deep red irises. A feral growl escaped his chest.

With a jolt, I broke out of my trance and I gripped the counter to stop myself from falling. With one hand, I rubbed my forehead, clenching my eyes shut. I could still see his red eyes. My heart was racing and I struggled to get my breathing under control. I felt the ground under my feet spin and for a second I was worried I might pass out.

I've had these kind of episodes on and off over the last few days. Maybe my mind was making up these images as a way to fill in the blanks. In a sick, twisted way this was my mind's way of creating answers.

That, or I was going bat-shit crazy. As I thought back on the things I'd seen regarding Emmett over the last few days, I really hoped it wasn't the latter.

"Son, are you okay?" my dad asked. I jumped a little bit, I didn't hear him come into the kitchen.

"Yeah," I fibbed. "Just tired, I guess." I peered at him through my fingers, not missing the concern that welled up in his eyes. I looked away from his scrutiny.

"You should get some rest," he admonished, placing his hand between my shoulder blades and gently rubbing circles there. I could almost hear my tense muscles sigh in relief.

I nodded. I did need to get some rest. I had been so scared of having more nightmares about Emmett that I had barely slept in the last few days. Maybe that explained why I was having those visions... or hallucinations, whatever.

"Go take a nap, son," Dad continued reasserted . "I'll take over receiving food from people who don't really care but would love for you to think they do."

I chuckled a bit, letting Dad guide me out of the kitchen. As I went through the living room, I smiled tiredly at Mom and ducked into hallway leading up to the other rooms in the house. I went into our bedroom, swallowing down the emotions, and laid down in bed. I closed my eyes, forcing my mind to let my body rest. I was tossing and turning for a good ten minutes when I heard the door creep open silently and light footsteps on the carpet.

Then suddenly, my mother was behind me in bed, her warm arms around me. I turned around and snuggled into her like a child. Without warning, all the tears and the anguish I had been repressing ever since that morning three days ago came back with a vengeance and I could feel my shoulders rock with suppressed sobs.

"Baby," Mom cooed. "Let it out, honey. There's no need for you to keep it in. Nobody's expecting you to be as calm and collected as you've been pretending to be."

With those words, she effectively broke down the walls I had built up to keep everything inside. Tears poured freely while excruciating sobs wracked my body.

"Mom," I managed to get out in between hiccoughs. "Mom, I..."

I could barely talk. My voice kept breaking up in low cries and high pitched sharp inhales.

"I'm so scared," I ultimately managed to say. "And I miss him so much." I started crying again.

Mom said nothing, she just cradled me and rocked me until finally, I fell asleep.

I woke up hours later in a cold sweat. Vague remnants of a nightmare were still swirling in my thoughts, but they were getting more and more vague as the seconds passed. Mom had already left the room and I welcomed the solitude. My earlier breakdown had cleared up some space in my mind and I felt a bit better; sharper.

I swung my legs out of bed and rubbed the sleep away from my eyes. I caught my reflection in the mirror on the wall. To say I had 'let myself go', would be an understatement. Over the last three days, the stubble I always sported had grown out to a full on beard.

I showered and shaved. Those actions added to me feeling better and suddenly, I felt like I needed to do something. Determination swept over me and I held onto it with both hands, not wanting to lose this feeling.

I got dressed, went out of our bedroom and told Dad, who I passed on my way to the front door, that I was going for a ride.

"Okay, son," he said, patting me on the shoulder. "Be careful."

Being careful wasn't on my mind, but I nodded anyway before grabbing my car keys and bolting out the front door.

The ride to the crash site was quick and over before I knew it and before long, I found myself standing in the middle of the woods with the damaged trees around me and the skid marks still on the ground.

Though Emmett's car had been towed away for further investigation, I could clearly recall the way it was positioned. From the back, it seemed as though the car had been parked peacefully there, but I could still see the front of the vehicle and how it was wrapped around the trunk of the tree.

I let my eyes wander along the ground as I walked a little further into the woods. I swallowed when I saw signs of the struggle Jasper had told me about embedded in the ground. I kept walking.

My mind tried to make up a scenario of how things went down that day. Why did he drive off the road? Was he about to hit something? Was he hit? There was no way of knowing.

And what did my visions mean? Was I really going crazy or was it something real?

_No, of course it's not real!_ My brain scoffed but my heart seemed to disagree. I just couldn't shake the idea that something beyond my understanding was happening.

I was startled out of my thoughts by a bright flash of light in my peripheral vision but by the time I had turned my head to look, it was already gone.

Maybe I _was_ going crazy...

I stayed in the shade-dappled woods a while longer. There was something about being there that made me feel different, more connected to Emmett somehow. However, sunset waited for no one and a fear sparked inside me.

I started walking out of the woods, past the crash site and back towards my car. Just as I climbed behind the wheel, I caught a reflection in my right-side mirror that made me freeze. It was him.

Clearly, I saw Emmett standing in the edge of the forest. My breath hitched but before I could even blink, he was already gone.

I jumped back out of the car and ran towards the edge of the forest but I wasn't brave enough to actually enter.

"Emmett!" I shouted, standing there. "Emmett, please come back!"

But a vicious growl that made my heart skip a beat warned me off and, fearing for my life, I ran back to the car and sped off faster than I had ever driven. I floored it all the way home, ignoring angry horns going off and cutting off people everywhere. I didn't care, I just wanted to be home. O_o

Fleeing away from potential death by something I didn't know didn't give me space or time to contemplate what just happened. I knew one thing, though, if I told anyone, they would tell me I'm crazy and by now, I knew I wasn't.

I roughly parked the car in the driveway and flew inside the house, locking the door behind me using all three locks - something I never did.

I ignored my family's weird looks as I went into the kitchen and took out the bottle of Scotch. I put the bottle to my lips and slammed my head backwards, needing the relief the alcoholic burn would give me.

I didn't get to drink enough to soothe my frayed nerves and pounding hear. The bottle was ripped away from me by my father. Startled, I looked at him and was taken aback by the anger in his eyes.

"Carlisle," Mom whispered from behind him but he never backed down.

"This," he hissed, waving the bottle in front of me, "is the road you want to go down, boy?"

I swallowed. I had never seen my father this angry before but realization quickly set in. Alcoholism ran in my father's side of the family. Misery welled up inside of me and I quickly shook my head.

"No," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

Dad nodded briskly and turned to the sink, pouring it down the drain. I apologized again and left the kitchen. I walked towards my work room and sat down behind my desk.

Without really knowing what I was doing, I opened Google and entered 'Red eyes' into the search bar. I gulped a little when I saw 96.200.000 search results but then scowled when the first page was riddled with sites about movies, a rock band and even a website about frogs.

It didn't get much better in the next ten pages.

Frustrated, I closed down Google and rested my face in my hands.

"What happened?" Dad's voice startled me.

"Nothing," I said defensively.

"Nothing?" he repeated, cocking an eyebrow. I sighed; I really didn't want to tell him about what happened out in the woods. "You really expect me to believe that?"

I sighed again. "I went to the woods where we found Emmett's car. The sight fucked with my head."

"Right," Dad said. "I understand, Edward, but alcohol is not the solution."

"I know," I told him. "And I swear to you that I'm not a drunk. I just needed to clear my head a little."

"Okay, I believe you," Dad replied.

"But son," he continued, leaning into me over the desk and putting a finger in my face. "If I ever see you do that again, I won't hesitate to kick the living shit out of you, understood?"

"Yes, Dad," I gulped. He looked deep into my eyes before nodding briskly again.

"Your mom and I are going back home tonight, son," he informed me.

"Oh, okay," I said.

"But call us if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay," I promised. I followed him out of my workroom and into the living room where mom was sitting. Rose had already left a few hours ago, so it was just my mother. She was wringing her hands and biting her lip.

"Mom," I called out to her. "I'm fine, really."

"You sure, baby?" she asked. "'Cause we can stay if you want us to."

"No, really, it's okay," I told her. "I'll be fine."

She looked deep into my eyes for what felt like a century before finally nodding and getting up. Throwing her arms around my neck, she held me tight for a moment. When she pulled back, she put her hands on my face.

"Call if you need anything," she urged me and I nodded between her hands.

"I will, Mom," I promised her. After Mom let go of me, Dad pulled me into a quick hug and then they were gone.

I heaved a huge sigh, glancing around my suddenly very empty house and I felt a pang of loneliness strike me in the chest. I hadn't been alone in the house since Emmett went missing and to have an empty house now felt weird.

I puttered around a bit, cleaning up, doing the dishes and vacuuming. Deciding I could use some clean clothes, I walked to the back of the house where our laundry room was located. As soon as I opened the door, I froze.

Emmett's clothes were in the hamper, his favorite detergent stood on the shelf, and there was a pile of clothes folded badly on the counter. Only Emmett could fold laundry so poorly...

My throat constricted and soon I was sitting on the floor, with my head in my hands, my fingers painfully tugging at my hair while I did my absolute best not to scream out my agony.

It took me a while to collect myself and get off the floor. Being in the laundry room made me feel like I was suffocating so I got back out. I made a split second decision to call Jasper Whitlock and waited for him to pick up the phone.

"Hey," I said, after he picked up. "It's uhm... Edward Cullen. You're working on my missi-"

"I know who you are, Edward," Jasper kindly interrupted me. "How can I help you?"

"I... uhm..." I cleared my throat. "I was wondering if you had any news? Maybe?"

"How about I come over?" he offered. "We can talk a bit."

"Yeah," I accepted. "Yeah, that would be... that's okay... thank you."

"I'll be there in about 20 minutes, Edward."


	5. Chapter 5

**AN at the bottom. I don't own Twilight. But if I did, I would probably have a better computer ;)**

* * *

><p>The morning was dark and dreary. I padded around the house, making coffee on auto-pilot and letting the gloom that the weather brought sink into me.<p>

Last night, Jasper told me there was no news about Emmett and it put me in a dark mood. I knew Emmett was in the woods somewhere. Seeing him yesterday had made that perfectly clear to was no way it had been some figment of my imagination.

The deep rolling growl I'd heard never left my mind. It was beyond frightening, a clear warning for me to stay away. Not that I had any intention to stay away.

I was going back to the forest. I needed to get Emmett back. The last few days had made it painfully obvious that I couldn't live or even function without him.

I finished my coffee and took a shower, letting the warm water wash away the ache in my muscles. Standing in front of my wardrobe closet for a long time, I contemplated what to wear. My plan was to go back out to the crash site, find the smallest trace of Emmett, and follow it by foot. I'd gone hiking more times than I could count; I knew I could do it.

I settled on a long-sleeved muscle shirt for warmth, a t-shirt and one of Emmett's on a pair of cargo-pants and my hiking shoes, I then went upstairs to our attic.

I took my pack out, dusted it off, and checked the tent for leaks. After that, I went back downstairs, stuffed some more clothes into the pack, new underwear, my toothbrush, and a few bottles of water. My storage closet still held more than enough food suitable for this trek and I took that as well.

Before long, I placed my heavy pack in the backseat of the Jeep and was off towards the woods.

When I arrived at the site where Emmett crashed his car, I parked next to the road and got out. Determined, I pulled my backpack onto my shoulders, hopping around a bit so that the straps weren't cutting into my shoulders, then went straight into the forest.

It was dark and cold, the sun obscured by layers of cloud, but it didn't take my determination away.

I started at the tree that Emmett had crashed against, then made a beeline to the struggle signs on the ground. There I stood, looking around for any sign of where he might have gone after that. The earth seemed to have absolutely no signs of foot prints or something like that, but in some places, the leaves on the ground seemed tousled.

My instincts made up my mind and I followed the small signs. In my mind, I tried to imagine a situation of what might have happened but I came up blank. Instead, I just focused on the ground until suddenly, the leaves on the ground showed absolutely nothing anymore.

Frustrated, I glanced around. The trees around me were old, and the lack of sunlight made them look ominously dark. Everything around me now more resembled a dark abyss than anything else, but I kept walking.

I needed to find something that would put me on the right path. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

Something inside of me told me to go straight through the woods and I followed those instructions. I'd learned a long time ago to follow my instincts. I resumed walking, just as the skies above opened up and started to pour rain.

I cussed briefly but didn't stop walking. I pulled the hood over my head to keep my neck and ears dry and warm but, within minutes it seemed, I was soaked. Still, I kept walking.

With every step I took, I felt like I came closer to Emmett, or at least a sign of him.

I walked for hours until finally, I got my sign. Behind a large oak, I saw someone laying on the ground. The sight reminded me of the visions I had of Emmett writhing in agony.

My breath halted and my heart sped up as I slowly walked closer to the tree, circling it until I could see more. With a mixture of crushing disappointment and equal relief, I soon saw that it was another hiker and not Emmett.

I came closer and the man appeared to be sleeping. The man wasn't moving at all, though, and I started to worry.

Getting even closer to the man, I now saw that his eyes were open. The brown eyes that seemed to stare into nothing were dull and flat.

"Oh god," I choked. I reached out and put my hand on the man's cold shoulder. My hand on his shoulder caused his head to fall back, revealing his neck and the big, torn wound right under his ear.

"Fuck!" I exclaimed, stumbling back. With shaking hands, I took out my phone and directly dialled Jasper's number.

"Edward?" he picked up the phone. "Are you okay?"

"No! No, Jasper," I stuttered. "I'm in the woods. There's a dead body!"

"Where in the woods are you?" He immediately jumped into action. "I'm on my way, where are you?"

"I..." I started, gazing around. "I don't know."

"Mike!" he shouted to someone who I presumed to be his coworker. "I need you to do a GPS trace on this number, ASAP!"

"Edward, stay on the phone," he ordered me. "We'll have your location in ten seconds. Don't move until the trace is complete. No matter what, stay where you are!"

I paced up and down, trying to avoid looking at the body but my eyes kept getting drawn to it. Sick to my stomach, I turned my head away from it again, up to the sky, in the hopes to settle down a bit.

It didn't work. In fact, my stomach whirled at the sight that met me. In the upper branches of the tree was a second body. It was another man, his front facing down. I could see his face was contorted in horror.

Doubling over, I couldn't help my stomach pushing its contents up my throat. I didn't even try to stop myself from vomiting.

I don't know how long I stood there, hurling up everything I had in my stomach and then some. Finally I was able to settle my stomach enough to stop purging and I sat down when a semi-small, all-terrain vehicle came through the trees and halted a few feet away from me.

I was relieved when Jasper jumped out, along with two others.

"Jasper!" I shouted. "Jasper, there's a second body!"

"Where?" he asked me, coming to me, and lifting me up into a standing position. I pointed up towards the trees. As an involuntary motion, my head followed the direction I was pointing to, making my empty stomach clench painfully at the sight.

I'd never seen a dead body before and to be initiated into it with two mangled ones wasn't doing my blood pressure any good.

Jasper looked up, frowning.

"How the hell..." he muttered. I put my hand in front of my mouth to stop myself from barfing some more.

"Here," he said, handing me a pack of crackers. I shook my head. The thought of food was the last thing my stomach agreed with right now.

"Trust me, your stomach will settle down if it has something to digest," Jasper persisted and I hesitantly took the crackers from him. Patting me on the shoulder real quick, Jasper walked off toward the man on the ground. I was strangely in awe of how he could do that without getting sick.

He crouched down next to the hiker and opened the work case he had with him. He took out gloves and put them on. I watched as Jasper took the head between his hands and moved it to the side so he had a better view of the neck wound.I looked away, focusing on my crackers instead.

"Did you touch the body, Edward?" Jasper called out.

"Yeah, briefly," I answered shakily. "I touched his shoulder."

Jasper nodded, refocusing on the body. "I can't say for sure," he said, both to me and his colleagues. "But I think time of death occurred between last night and around 5 in the morning. The coroner will have to confirm."

Though the crackers did an unexpectedly good job at settling my stomach down, I felt more and more uncomfortable with every minute passing by.

My discomfort grew when Jasper asked the one question I didn't want him to ask.

"So Edward, mind telling me what you're doing so far out in the forest on your own?"

I sighed, fidgeting a little. "Hiking," I answered, causing Jasper to cock his eyebrow at me. I huffed. "I'm trying to find Emmett."

"And you thought that wandering around aimlessly in the woods would be a good way of finding him?" Jasper asked.

"I wasn't wandering around aimlessly," I said defensively. "I was following a trail."

"What trail?" Jasper demanded, confusion marring his face. Taking a deep breath, making absolutely sure I wasn't about to let my eyes stray back to the dead bodies, I began to tell him about the odd placements of leaves and soil and how my gut led me further.

He nodded a bit. "I just need to ask you a few more questions about these guys here and then you can move on, okay?"

To say I wasn't stunned would be a lie. "Just like that? You're not gonna try and talk me into getting my ass home?"

Jasper chuckled. "Would it work?"

"No," I said defiantly.

"Then I'm not gonna try and talk you into going home," he stated matter-of-factly. "But stick around for a little bit longer."

Jasper finished up his examination of the scene while his colleagues searched for evidence in the surrounding area.

He took me back to the vehicle and asked me how I'd found the bodies and if I had seen anything else that might be important.

I told him everything I had seen, but admittedly, it wasn't much. By the time he was done questioning me, the coroner - along with a forensic anthropologist - had already arrived.

Jasper took me to the back of the car. Looking back over his shoulder, he checked if anyone was watching us before focusing his attention back to me.

"What?" I asked, confused by his behavior.

"Here," he said, thrusting a leather bound package in my hands. Frowning down at it, I was confused about what it was.

"What is it?" I asked him. It looked similar to a gun, but I could also tell it wasn't.

"It's a Tasergun," he answered. "Two deaths and one disappearance all in the same stretch of woods, Edward. I don't like you being in here with nothing to defend yourself with."

"Do you think Emmett's disappearance has anything to do with the bodies?" I asked, choking up. I wouldn't be able to get over it if I were to find Emmett in the same condition as these poor guys.

"I don't know. The hikers seems to have been killed by an animal, but my gut is sending me warning signs. I'm not gonna stop you from finding your man, but I'm not gonna leave you completely defenseless either."

"Thanks," I muttered, looking down at the Tasergun. I tucked it into the side of my jeans. Jasper sighed.

"What?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said. "I just have a weird feeling."

He seemed to shake it off as soon as he pronounced it and I didn't respond to it. My mind was reeling from everything that happened today and for the first time, I wondered if it was a mistake to come out here.

No. It wasn't. I needed to find Emmett, even if it would be the last thing I did. Though, if I were to find Emmett in the same way I found those hikers, it might very well be the last thing I did.

I swallowed the bile that rose up in my throat and turned my attention back to Jasper.

"Can I go?" I whispered. Jasper nodded, telling me to be careful and to keep my phone on at all times.

In return, I told him I had two extra full batteries for my phone, in case it died and it seemed to relieve him.

With a last pat on the back, he disappeared into the vehicle, telling his colleagues he was going back to the precinct to fill out the paperwork, and I walked off. I didn't really know where I was going and so I let my gut lead me again.

**~o0o0o~**

Darkness covered the woods and a deepseated weariness took over my body. Half-heartedly, I searched for a spot I could put up my tent. But, after half an hour, I still hadn't found anything.

I was getting desperate, I needed to find a spot, put up my tent, and eat something before my body shut down for the night. My energy was at an all-time low. Looking around, all I saw was dense forest, not a single spot large enough to set up a tent.

I cussed under my breath, slowly making my way through the forest.

"C'mon, Cullen," I chided myself. "Stay awake."

Finally after another thirty minutes, I found a large open space. It was grassy and filled with flowers. The beauty of it would've been breathtaking if I wasn't so tired.

I walked to the center of the meadow and put my pack down. The weight lifted off my shoulders was an immense relief and with a small amount of renewed energy, I went in search of fire-wood.

Not long after that, I had dug a pit for a fire and I had lit it up, letting the warmth of the fire slowly replace the cold in my veins. Setting up my tent and sleeping bag, I was torn between wanting to crawl in and fall asleep or eating first. My growling stomach made up my mind for me.

As I ate, I let my mind wander to Emmett. Where could he be? Was he still alive? My heart told me he was, that I would find him soon. I decided to trust my heart.

Glancing around and chewing on my beef jerky, I couldn't help but conjure memories of Emmett. He had recently got onto a Supernatural kick; the thought made me smile.

The TV-show was about two brothers hunting down supernatural monsters and killing them, saving the day, and getting the girl. Emmett loved that show and even I had to admit it was good. Of course, my thoughts of that show led me to a specific episode and before I could tell my brain to cut it out, I was already remembering the episode with the Wendigo.

The Wendigo was a monster living in remote areas of the woods and preyed on hikers.

"Nice one, Edward. Now you've gone and scared yourself shitless over something that doesn't exist," I grumbled. "Stupid Emmett and his stupid monster filled TV-show."

I tossed my food back into my backpack and placed it inside the tent. I turned to zip down the entrance to the tent and froze.

There was no mistaking it this time. There was a man standing in the meadow.

I shifted my weight and stepped outside the tent, my hand twitching towards the gun in the back of my jeans.

"Hey," I called out, my heart thundering in my chest. There was something about him that made me uncomfortable. All I saw was a silhouette, dark and ominous. It wasn't a very tall man, but something about his posture made him intimidating.

He didn't answer, but I could see his head cocking to the side, almost as though he was measuring me up.

"Who are you?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

Still no answer. I was getting properly freaked out by this time, especially when he took a step forward.

In the blink of an eye, I had drawn the Tasergun and pointed it at him, which coaxed a sick kind of giggle from him.

"Who are you?" I demanded, survival instincts kicking in.

The man took another step forward, coming into the light of the fire. The light made his skin look weird...sickly almost.

For what it was worth, he was a handsome man. He had strong, striking features and long, blond hair, roughly tucked into a low ponytail. But despite his handsome appearance, I could tell he was absolutely wild.

He took another step forward and I grasped the gun a little tighter, ready to pull the trigger. Once he was down, I would leave the meadow.

Before my finger could make the move, there was a very familiar and equally terrifying sound coming from behind me. It was the growl I had heard yesterday.

There was a flash of black and white, a force hitting me on the chest, and I was flung back into the tent. The world went black as I felt my back hit the hard ground.

**~o0o0o~ **

I don't know how long it took me to wake up. As I lay on the cold ground, my body slowly came back. Almost as if it was tentative to wake up, unsure of what just happened and frightened of what attacked me.

I groaned, my arm reaching up and behind my head to rub the throbbing bump on the back of my skull.

A part of me said that it hadn't been an attack, more like a defence. I mustered up strength and sat up, holding my head in an effort to stop the ground beneath my ass to stop spinning.

I slowly opened my eyes, squeezing them to slits as I looked into the fire. The meadow looked exactly the same, though the atmosphere around it had changed drastically. I felt unsafe and yet oddly protected. Groaning, I crawled my way to the tent and went inside, zipping down the entrance and feeling my way into the sleeping bag in the darkness.

I took a deep breath, cringing when the movement caused a dull ache in my ribs. Rubbing my painful ribs and shaking with cold and fear, I closed my eyes. I knew that whatever just happened, whatever it was that knocked me on my ass, would protect me and because of that, I was able to sink into a light sleep.

The last thing I heard before I fell asleep was an owl hooting.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! I'm so sorry for the horribly late update but a crappy computer and RL seriously cut down my writing mojo. I hope you can forgive me. <strong>

**Many many heartfelt thanks to my prereader DelphiusFanfic and my awesome Beta Mrs. Aggett. They're both really talented writers, so check out their work! **

**I've made an important decision about this story. I've decided to make it a short story. After this chapter, there might be one or two more chapters and an epilogue. **

**On a sidenote, I've been told that certain aspects in this chapter are unrealistic, like how Jasper let Edward leave the crime scene and how Edward stayed in the woods when he was clearly scared. Let me just say one thing: Edward's a man on a mission. He doesn't _want_ to find Emmett, he _absolutely needs_ to find him. And let's not forget that where he sat up camp, is hours away from the crime-scene. **

**XoXoX Eve**


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